Demetrious Johnson will finally have his chance to claim the ONE Championship flyweight title.
A match between Johnson and reigning ONE flyweight champion Adriano Moraes has been set for February 24, as was announced during the broadcast of ONE: Big Bang.
Save the date! Demetrious Johnson is BACK on 24 February against ONE Flyweight World Champion Adriano Moraes
@MightyMouse @adrianomkmoraes #ONEBigBang #WeAreONE #ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/w4XWtndU82
— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship) December 4, 2020
Johnson earned his shot at the belt after running through the 2019 ONE Lightweight World Grand Prix. The tournament saw Johnson pick up a submission victory over Yuya Wakamatsu, followed by a decision victory over Tatsumitsu Wada, before beating longtime ONE Championship staple Danny Kingad in the finals.
Prior to joining ONE, Johnson had a long reign as the inaugural UFC flyweight championship. He defended that belt 11 times during a run that, to many – including UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya – cemented his place as one of the greatest mixed martial artists of all time. Following a controversial split-decision loss to Henry Cejudo, Johnson was part of a highly publicized “trade” that saw him go to ONE Championship and Ben Askren come back to the UFC in return.
Now, he faces Moraes, who at 18-3, has been on quite the run himself. he is a three-time ONE champion, who has avenged both of his title defeats. In fact, all three of his losses have come by split decision. He comes into the fight against Johnson after reclaiming his title from Geje Eustaquio. When he does step back in the cage, it will be after an over two-year-long layoff.
Johnson and Moraes were originally scheduled to meet earlier this year in Jakarta, Indonesia, before the coronavirus pandemic halted those plans. Now that ONE is back to running regular shows, hopefully this fight will stay intact and we can finally see who the top flyweight is.
Who do you think wins the fight between Demtrious Johnson and Adriano Moraes?